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Avoid These 6 Muscle-Building Mistakes
By John M Berardi, April 6th, 2011
Anyone who???s ever made the transition from scrawny to brawny knows that getting big isn???t an accident. Adding pounds of muscle doesn???t just happen.
???I looked in the mirror this morning and saw I added 20 pounds! Then I won the lottery. Then???I woke up.???
Dream on, buddy. The reality is: gaining size and transforming your body is a concentrated assault on your physiology.
We want to help take you from scrawny to brawny. If you want to finally gain some size and learn how to add muscle the right way ??? even if you???re skeptical about being able to do it ??? we suggest you avoid the ???deadly six??? and heed our advice.
The 6 Scrawny Guy Mistakes:
Mistake #1. You Collect Too Much Information. You have a handful of online fitness sites bookmarked and read an article or two every day. Perhaps you even print the articles so you can read them again later. You spend time in the forums, putting your two cents in and giving advice. But are you actually practicing what you preach? Are you really training hard in the gym and eating big in the kitchen? If you???re still scrawny, probably not.
Solution: Go on a two-week fitness media fast. That???s right. No reading fitness magazines, books, or online articles for a full 14 days. You probably already know enough of the basics to make your time in the gym worthwhile. So why don???t you get your ass in there and really start training?
Mistake #2. You Don???t Eat Nearly Enough. Yeah, we already know you eat a lot. (That???s what everyone tells us, at least.) But if you???re still not gaining weight, guess what? You aren???t eating nearly enough. Most scrawny guys have a metabolism akin to a hummingbird hooked on trailer park meth. To combat your fast metabolism, you have to treat your fork like an American Express card: you should never leave home without it. Eat a Muscle Breakfast, Muscle Lunch, Muscle Dinner, and consume three healthy, calorie-packed Super Shakes. Now that???s eating big. And it translates to big results.
How much are you eating every day? Are you even keeping track? You don???t have to count calories, but you do have to stuff your face with healthy food multiple times per day.
Solution: Steal our Super Shake idea and drink three every day. Drinking 3 Super Shakes will provide your body with an influx of high-quality calories, and will jump start the mass-gaining process. You???ll still have to eat big, but drinking three Super Shakes is a great start. Here are the components to a great Super Shake:
Step 1: Start with Ice
Use 1-4 cubes for a thin shake and 5 ??? 10 for a thick shake.
Step 2: Pick a Fruit
Go with frozen over fresh. Banana, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry (or whatever sounds good).
Step 3: Throw in a Veggie
Add some spinach or greens powder (seriously, you can???t even taste it).
Step 4: Scoop Some Protein
Add one to two scoops of your favorite protein powder
Mistake #3. You Jump Around From Program to Program.
To get great results you have to do a few things:
??? Pick a program that???s made for you
??? Follow the program for at least two months
??? Practice progressive overload and focus on taking a small step forward every time you???re in the gym (i.e. add more weight to the bar, take less rest, do more repetitions or sets, or perform the exercise more smoothly) Only then can you judge a program???s effectiveness.
Pick a program (preferably something with compound movements and heavy lifting) and stick to it for at least eight weeks. And, during each week of the program, make sure you do a little more, or a little better than the previous week.
Mistake #4. You Don???t Measure Progress.
The quickest way to become broke is to never track your spending. Well, the easiest way to stay scrawny is to never track your stats or measure your progress. That???s why brawny guys measure things like:
??? how much weight they used for every set of every exercise of every workout
??? how many meals they eat
??? step on the scale every week, take girth measurements and monthly progress photos.
Why? The more things you measure, the more progress you???ll see. Didn???t increase your weight but added 1/2 an inch to your chest? You???d never know if you didn???t measure. Measuring your progress and keeping track of your workout and nutrition ???stats??? helps show you where things are progressing and what you need to work on to keep getting results. Not getting any bigger? Are you drinking three Super Shakes and eating three ???muscle meals???? Are you sure? You???ve probably heard it before, but what gets measured gets managed.
Solution: Get a training journal and write down the basics: sets, reps, and how much weight you used. Also, make it a weekly habit to check both your girth measurements and your body weight.
Mistake #5. You Don???t Have a Mentor or Social Support. You don???t just get thrown into a calculus class and expect to do well, especially if you don???t know how to do calculus. Instead, you have a teacher to, well, teach you.
With their help, you figure out how to do the work, and ace the class. Think about it. Does it really make sense to go at it alone? Would you just pack up all your gear and head into the jungle without a guide? Hell no! You???d pick a smart dude with a machete who knows the jungle like his own back yard to show you around.
Try to surround yourself with other people who have the same goals as you.
Why? If you have a training partner or a group of guys to train with, a few things will happen:
??? you???ll go to the gym consistently
??? you???ll push yourself on hard exercises
??? you???ll have someone to share the setbacks and triumphs of gaining muscle
Solution: Find someone who???s done what you want to do and ask for their advice. See what kind of habits they follow, then do the exact same thing.
Mistake #6. You Try To Do Too Much At Once.
Here???s the truth: gaining weight is as simple as following a series of well thought out habits.
Thing is, the habits have to be conducive to building muscle. (Duh.) Follow bad habits like not eating enough or jumping from program to program and you???ll look the same next year as you do right now. Follow good habits (like the solutions we???ve given you) and you???ll be well on your way to making a huge body transformation. But here???s the kicker: if you try to do all these new habits at once, you???ll undoubtedly fail.
Remember, your bad habits were developed over years and you???ve been practicing them every day. So, to overcome them and adopt a new set of habits, it???ll take time and lots of practice. But it can be done.
Solution: Choose only one new habit to follow and stick with it, and it alone, for at least 2 weeks, until you have it mastered. In fact, don???t move on to the next habit until this first one is mastered.
Pick any habit from the list below and follow that for the next two weeks. After that, move on to another and another until you???re following every habit consistently.
??? Go on a two-week fitness media fast.
??? Drink 3 Super Shakes every day.
??? Pick a program that was written for your goal and stick to it.
??? Keep a workout journal and/or track your girth measurements.
??? Train with a mentor or group of like-minded guys with similar goals.
###
Edited version to remove the sales talk.
From Precision Nutrition's web site.
By John M Berardi, April 6th, 2011
Anyone who???s ever made the transition from scrawny to brawny knows that getting big isn???t an accident. Adding pounds of muscle doesn???t just happen.
???I looked in the mirror this morning and saw I added 20 pounds! Then I won the lottery. Then???I woke up.???
Dream on, buddy. The reality is: gaining size and transforming your body is a concentrated assault on your physiology.
We want to help take you from scrawny to brawny. If you want to finally gain some size and learn how to add muscle the right way ??? even if you???re skeptical about being able to do it ??? we suggest you avoid the ???deadly six??? and heed our advice.
The 6 Scrawny Guy Mistakes:
Mistake #1. You Collect Too Much Information. You have a handful of online fitness sites bookmarked and read an article or two every day. Perhaps you even print the articles so you can read them again later. You spend time in the forums, putting your two cents in and giving advice. But are you actually practicing what you preach? Are you really training hard in the gym and eating big in the kitchen? If you???re still scrawny, probably not.
Solution: Go on a two-week fitness media fast. That???s right. No reading fitness magazines, books, or online articles for a full 14 days. You probably already know enough of the basics to make your time in the gym worthwhile. So why don???t you get your ass in there and really start training?
Mistake #2. You Don???t Eat Nearly Enough. Yeah, we already know you eat a lot. (That???s what everyone tells us, at least.) But if you???re still not gaining weight, guess what? You aren???t eating nearly enough. Most scrawny guys have a metabolism akin to a hummingbird hooked on trailer park meth. To combat your fast metabolism, you have to treat your fork like an American Express card: you should never leave home without it. Eat a Muscle Breakfast, Muscle Lunch, Muscle Dinner, and consume three healthy, calorie-packed Super Shakes. Now that???s eating big. And it translates to big results.
How much are you eating every day? Are you even keeping track? You don???t have to count calories, but you do have to stuff your face with healthy food multiple times per day.
Solution: Steal our Super Shake idea and drink three every day. Drinking 3 Super Shakes will provide your body with an influx of high-quality calories, and will jump start the mass-gaining process. You???ll still have to eat big, but drinking three Super Shakes is a great start. Here are the components to a great Super Shake:
Step 1: Start with Ice
Use 1-4 cubes for a thin shake and 5 ??? 10 for a thick shake.
Step 2: Pick a Fruit
Go with frozen over fresh. Banana, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry (or whatever sounds good).
Step 3: Throw in a Veggie
Add some spinach or greens powder (seriously, you can???t even taste it).
Step 4: Scoop Some Protein
Add one to two scoops of your favorite protein powder
Mistake #3. You Jump Around From Program to Program.
To get great results you have to do a few things:
??? Pick a program that???s made for you
??? Follow the program for at least two months
??? Practice progressive overload and focus on taking a small step forward every time you???re in the gym (i.e. add more weight to the bar, take less rest, do more repetitions or sets, or perform the exercise more smoothly) Only then can you judge a program???s effectiveness.
Pick a program (preferably something with compound movements and heavy lifting) and stick to it for at least eight weeks. And, during each week of the program, make sure you do a little more, or a little better than the previous week.
Mistake #4. You Don???t Measure Progress.
The quickest way to become broke is to never track your spending. Well, the easiest way to stay scrawny is to never track your stats or measure your progress. That???s why brawny guys measure things like:
??? how much weight they used for every set of every exercise of every workout
??? how many meals they eat
??? step on the scale every week, take girth measurements and monthly progress photos.
Why? The more things you measure, the more progress you???ll see. Didn???t increase your weight but added 1/2 an inch to your chest? You???d never know if you didn???t measure. Measuring your progress and keeping track of your workout and nutrition ???stats??? helps show you where things are progressing and what you need to work on to keep getting results. Not getting any bigger? Are you drinking three Super Shakes and eating three ???muscle meals???? Are you sure? You???ve probably heard it before, but what gets measured gets managed.
Solution: Get a training journal and write down the basics: sets, reps, and how much weight you used. Also, make it a weekly habit to check both your girth measurements and your body weight.
Mistake #5. You Don???t Have a Mentor or Social Support. You don???t just get thrown into a calculus class and expect to do well, especially if you don???t know how to do calculus. Instead, you have a teacher to, well, teach you.
With their help, you figure out how to do the work, and ace the class. Think about it. Does it really make sense to go at it alone? Would you just pack up all your gear and head into the jungle without a guide? Hell no! You???d pick a smart dude with a machete who knows the jungle like his own back yard to show you around.
Try to surround yourself with other people who have the same goals as you.
Why? If you have a training partner or a group of guys to train with, a few things will happen:
??? you???ll go to the gym consistently
??? you???ll push yourself on hard exercises
??? you???ll have someone to share the setbacks and triumphs of gaining muscle
Solution: Find someone who???s done what you want to do and ask for their advice. See what kind of habits they follow, then do the exact same thing.
Mistake #6. You Try To Do Too Much At Once.
Here???s the truth: gaining weight is as simple as following a series of well thought out habits.
Thing is, the habits have to be conducive to building muscle. (Duh.) Follow bad habits like not eating enough or jumping from program to program and you???ll look the same next year as you do right now. Follow good habits (like the solutions we???ve given you) and you???ll be well on your way to making a huge body transformation. But here???s the kicker: if you try to do all these new habits at once, you???ll undoubtedly fail.
Remember, your bad habits were developed over years and you???ve been practicing them every day. So, to overcome them and adopt a new set of habits, it???ll take time and lots of practice. But it can be done.
Solution: Choose only one new habit to follow and stick with it, and it alone, for at least 2 weeks, until you have it mastered. In fact, don???t move on to the next habit until this first one is mastered.
Pick any habit from the list below and follow that for the next two weeks. After that, move on to another and another until you???re following every habit consistently.
??? Go on a two-week fitness media fast.
??? Drink 3 Super Shakes every day.
??? Pick a program that was written for your goal and stick to it.
??? Keep a workout journal and/or track your girth measurements.
??? Train with a mentor or group of like-minded guys with similar goals.
###
Edited version to remove the sales talk.
From Precision Nutrition's web site.
Last edited:
She's a girl. A skinny girl at that. What does she know? She should be in the kitchen makin' me a sammich. 
**
